Cooperative Item Creation

[Erekose13]

Cooperative Item Creation

The current rules allow characters to work together to create a magic item. The only cost that must be born by the creator is the XP cost. Here is an exposition on the current crafting rules as it pertains to cooperation as per Rules of the Game: Creating Magic Items Pt. 1.

Prerequisites 

Two or more characters can work together to create an item, with each character
providing one or more prerequisites. To provide a spell prerequisite, a 
character must have prepared the spell (or know the spell, in the case of a 
sorcerer or bard). The rules say you can use a spell completion or spell trigger
magic item or a spell-like ability that produces the desired spell effect to 
provide a spell prerequisite. A command or use-activated item cannot provide 
a spell prerequisite.

Cost 

Someone, usually the item's creator, must pay half the base price in gold pieces
for the supplies consumed while creating the item. The item's creator also must 
invest experience points. The experience cost is 1/25th the base price. Under 
the core D&D rules, no one but the item creator can pay this experience cost 
(but see the notes on cooperatively making an item in Part Seven).

When two or more characters cooperate to create an item, they must agree 
among themselves who will be considered the creator. Use the designated 
creator's caster level for any aspect of the item creation process that uses 
the creator's caster level. The designated creator pays the XP required to 
make the item. The rules don't say so, but it's best to assume that when 
a character provides a prerequisite spell that has an XP component he or 
she also pays the XP costs for that spell.

Here is a discussion on sharing XP costs from the same column, Pt. 7

A Completely Unofficial Rule: Cooperative Item Creation 

As noted back in Part One, more than one character can cooperate in the 
creation of an item, with each participant providing one or more of the 
prerequisites. According to the rules, however, XP costs cannot be shared. 
One character must shoulder the XP burden alone.

If players in your game are avid magic item creators, you might want to 
experiment with shared XP costs. You can allow characters who work 
together on a magic item to divide up the XP cost any way they like. To 
share the cost, a character must provide at least one of the item's 
prerequisites. Any division of the XP cost is possible, provided that 
all the creators agree to the scheme.

If you have the kind of campaign in which some of your players pester the 
others to make magic items for them, you might want to allow any 
character to share the XP cost to make an item. An XP donor must be 
present each day during the item's creation (or at least when work begins 
on the item each day). Allow the XP donation to be strictly voluntary -- 
it doesn't work if the donor is magically charmed or compelled, or if the 
donor is bullied or intimidated into contributing. On the other hand, allowing 
evil spellcasters to force XP from unwilling victims might just add the right 
touch of nastiness to dark fantasy campaigns.

Proposal

Allow any PC to contribute any component to creation of a magic item (including XP and GP and prerequisites). All characters involved in the creation of them, who are contributing anything beyond financial (gp) components must work together for the entire craft period. In game, this means they must all spend 1 day per 1000gp of the base price locked away creating. Outside of an adventure, or when a DM permits the use of Craft Points in an adventure, the Craft Points must be paid by all parties contributing anything beyond money.

In addition the XP cost of the item increases by 20% per additional person contributing XP. If multiple people are contributing then they must pay the same amount.

Number of People Contibuting XP | XP Cost | Per person (split evenly)
1 | 100% | 100%
2 | 120% | 60%
3 | 140% | 47%
4 | 160% | 40%
5 | 180% | 36%
6 | 200% | 33%
7 | 220% | 31%
8 | 240% | 30%

As you can see with 6 or more people contributing there is very little additional gain.

Corollory: NPCs must voluntarily and without compunction agree to spending XP. A judge should okay any such transaction.

Note: A similar proposal was submitted and approved prior to the crash. I've done my best to reconstruct it based on my own intuition and resources. I think we need to hash this out completely from the ground up again as I know that I will have missed something.

 

[Bront]

I believe we had an approved system before, where the cost stayed the same, but the group split the XP cost evenly (I believe it was +20% per additional crafter).

 

[Rystil Arden]

Kahuna's proposal was fair and balanced. Among other things, both parties paid the full CP cost. This only makes sense--you can't share the time to craft between creators.

 

[Bront]

Yup, that's right, I remember now.

Gold: Split how you wish
CP: Same for everyone, no discount.
XP: +20% per person, split equaly.

People	XP	Each
1	100%	100%
2	120%	60%
3	140%	47%
4	160%	40%
5	180%	36%
6	200%	33%

Gets close to 20%, but after 6 people, why bother?

 

[Erekose13]

Im starting to remember that. I only wrote this because those rules were lost. We need something in place so here is where we recreate them.

CP, makes sense.
XP, ah right that was right before the crash.

 

[Erekose13]

Proposal adjusted to include the rules discussed above. Not sure that we need to say that XP needed to be split evenly do we? I don't see what effect that would have.

Question then, does every participant have to contribute XP? only those that want to? Could a wizard (with appropriate feats and spells) create a magic sword for a fighter with the fighter donating all XP and gp and not be affected by the increase in XP contributed? That rule is more for the sharing of XP costs across a vast body of people which would make the XP cost insignificant for each participant, correct?

 

[Bront]

No, the creator must always be part of it. Gold can be split however, so that's easy. (That's just buying supplies and such).

And while the XP cost would be spread amonst lots of people, the net cost is expensive. That +1 sword that costs 80 XP would cost 4 people 32, which is some savings for the craftor, but cost a net 128, so was ultimately much more expensive.

Anyway, I'll vote YES for the reconstructed one.

 

[Rystil Arden]

It definitely definitely has to be split evenly (or at least mostly evenly). We don't want hired NPCs paying the full cost or such.

 

[Erekose13]

Part of this proposal is that NPCs can never contribute. If you want custom items for your NPC cohort, either you pay the XP costs or you buy it full price.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Part of this proposal is that NPCs can never contribute. If you want custom items for your NPC cohort, either you pay the XP costs or you buy it full price.

NPCs should be able to contribute because otherwise how in the world are they crafting items? Either way, it really isn't fair to anyone to allow full XP cost to be paid by some subsidiary player.

Not only can an "XP market" be started equally well among players, this leads to several problems for the casters:

First, the arrogant self-righteous characters who expect to be able to pay the full XP cost for their item and then buy it at cost to create as if the crafter hasn't spent a feat to gain this ability.

Second, the "nice-guy" who drives the entire economy out of business by offering crafting at the terms of the arrogant self-righteous characters at all times, thus gaining nothing for herself but driving all other crafters out of business.